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New Lord of the Rings Action RPG Announced

So far it looks like a Dragon Age set in Middle-Earth and- wait, Dragon Age wasn’t set in Middle-Earth?
The big WB has announced a new game in the Lord of the Rings franchise, titled “War in the North” and this time it’s an Action RPG. The game is being developed by Snowblind Studios and will feature a more “mature” take of Middle-Earth, perhaps inspired by last year’s Dragon Age: Origins, which was practically dripping with maturity.

Now the real deal-maker here is that the game will feature three-player online co-op, with the three heroes fighting the northern forces of Sauron, independent of Frodo and Aragorn’s travels in the south. You get to pick between Human, Elf and Dwarf (no Hobbits, sorry) for your adventurer and it can be assumed that you also get to pick between being a bowmen or a melee fighter. The state of magic in Lord of the Rings being what it is, you can probably rule out having a spellcaster in your party.

The highlight is still the co-op, which WB promises to be innovative and handled in a way that only Snowblind can deliver. A google on Snowblind reveals that they’ve been rather prolific in developing console titles such as Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath and Justice League Heroes. This marks their first game for the PC then, as Lord of the Rings: War in the North is slated to release for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2011, with no specific date announced.

No screenshots are available so far, but there’s an announcement trailer.

Moral of the story: When in doubt, lead your enemies to a spot where a giant bird may grab them for lunch.

And finally, here’s the official site for the game with some story information, but unfortunately no screenshots or concept art.